The Lady Jays basketball team saw a season-high four-game win streak snapped on Saturday night in its bout with Muhlenberg College, falling 50-31. Hopkins trailed the entire game and could not find an offensive rhythm while playing from behind all night.
Head Coach Nancy Funk, seeing her team had come out flat, called a quick timeout after the Jays fell behind 6-0. Senior forward Maggie Fruehan netted a quick bucket coming out of the timeout, but the Mules continued their hot start with a 7-0 run to push their lead to a commanding 13-2.
The Lady Jays then responded, going on a 9-1 run fueled by midrange jumpers from juniors Katie Clark and Beatriz Williams, a three-pointer from senior Stacy Fairey, and a layup from senior Alyssa Fleming that brought the Lady Jays within three.
The host Mules continued their relentless attack, posting another 7-0 run after the teams traded baskets to take a 23-13 lead into halftime. After the shellacking that the Lady Jays had put on Muhlenberg last time the schools faced off, the 13-point halftime deficit left room for improvement.
The Lady Jays could not turn that frustration into success on the court, though, allowing a 6-2 run for the hosts that put Hopkins furhter in the hole. Hopkins fired back with a Fairey triple and an old-fashioned three-point play from Williams to make it a 10-point game at 31-21.
Senior forward Laura Gregory, who had 14 points for the day, netted a long jumper for the Mules, but senior Jessica Brown knocked down a three with just over 10 minutes to play to bring the Lady Jays to within nine.
That was the last time Hopkins would have a manageable deficit, as the Mules tightened the screws on defense, forcing two Hopkins turnovers and two missed shots. This renewed fervor on defense sparked a 10-0 run for Muhlenberg, as Gregory poured in four more points and Muhlenberg forward Leanna Tallamy, who had a game-high 16, drained three buckets of her own to bring their lead to 43-24 with 6:23 remaining.
Yet another Fairey three stopped the bleeding for the Lady Jays, but with just over four minutes to play, a furious comeback effort was too little, too late. Hopkins was never able to solve Muhlenberg’s 2-3 zone, committing 20 turnovers and shooting just 13-55. Fairey led the way in the points column for the Lady Jays for the second time this season with nine points off the bench to go with two blocks and a steal.
After getting absolutely demolished at Goldfarb Gymnasium earlier in the season, 63-46, the Mules came out with a new defensive strategy after their press was picked apart by the Lady Jays on Dec. 6. Hopkins had difficulty getting out in transition and finding open seams in the Muhlenberg zone.
“We definitely struggled against their 2-3 zone,” Clark said. “I think that next time we need to settle in more and get better ball movement. Muhlenberg’s defense caused us to rush and take quick shots when we were not in good rebounding position, leading to a lot of one and dones.”
The Mules were sparked by Tallamy and Gregory, who both chipped in a double-double. Tallamy’s 16 points and 13 rebounds represented her 11th consecutive double-double, while Gregory pulled down 11 boards to go with her 14 points. Muhlenberg center Christina Santone, playing the middle of the zone, grabbed nine rebounds of her own and swatted six Hopkins shots.
“I honestly am not too worried about coming out flat again like we did on Saturday,” Clark said. “I think that this was uncharacteristic of our team, and we have the capacity to play so much better than we demonstrated on Saturday. We still have several very important games coming up and are all very dedicated to taking advantage of those opportunities in order to put us in the best position possible at the time of the conference tournament.”
The Jays are back in action on Saturday night as they host Haverford at the Goldfarb Gymnasium, tipping off at 3 p.m.
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